SO MANY ANIMALS!! We’ve seen so many moose, caribou (one of them only had one antler), and bunnies, plus a (huge) grizzly, and a surprising number of porcupines (8-10). Not all animals are pictured 🙂 I didn’t expect to be able to see so many animals, especially with only one road through this massive park, AND with that road only being accessible for the first 30 miles, due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. Private vehicles can only go the first 15 miles, after that, you have to take one of the park’s busses, we did that once. The mountains, rivers, streams, and animals are nothing short of stunning and we’ve seen Denali three times. We saw the NPS sled dog demonstration and went offroad at a couple locations near the park, outside of Healy. We didn’t see animals, but the views made up for it. We’ve done a couple hikes, tried elk meatballs and reindeer sausage, learned that porcupines walk across the top of the snow to chew on Birch tree bark, drove down to the North and South Denali viewpoints at the Denali State Park, and went to a solstice luau at the 49th State Brewery.

We finished preparations, figured out how to lock the Jeep down in the ATC toyhauler for the trip, and headed up for a long weekend with 2 of the kids and the G-kids. We left Mo on 5.24 and headed to our first stop in Minot, ND, where we visited a Scandinavian cultural center, with buildings that were taken apart, brought to ND, and reassembled. Then across the border at Portal, ND with stops in: North Battleford, SK – Valleyview, AB – Muncho Lake, BC – Whitehorse, YT before crossing back into the U.S. and stopping in Tok, AK before reaching Denali on 5.31.26. We saw moose, bison, deer, caribou, and black bears on the drive. I was unable to get photos of most, but it was an incredible, beautiful trip…even though we were snowed on as we traveled a mountain pass on May 30th. Three of our stops were at Harvest Hosts, and all were great experiences, two aviation museums and a paintballing facility. We also boondocked at Muncho Lake, which was beautiful and peaceful (and cold). Other notable stops: The beginning and ending of the Alaska Highway, the world’s largest beaver statue (Beaver, AB), the sign forest, a 1920’s Roadside Inn, and North Pole, AK, where we spent some time feeding some Caribou who were named after the 8 reindeer. We also learned the difference between Caribou and Reindeer, though they’re genetically identical, they have differently shaped antlers. On 5.31.26, we got our first glimpse of the incredible Alaska Mountain Range before we pulled into our first stop, a mile outside of Denali National Park. On another note, Whiskey didn’t come home the morning of 5.11, after spending the night outside hunting – that’s been a hard adjustment on all of us.

We ended up leaving Tx a little early, but not before visiting South Padre and Mexico again, then headed back to the land. We went back to visit the G-kids for a weekend and a trip to the zoo. When we got home, we worked on the camper in preparation for the trip to Alaska this summer. We put in some carpet (that can be moved when the Jeep is strapped in) and changed the couch out for a much more comfortable one. Jim did some work/maintenance on the dozer, built some cedar flower boxes, and burned yet another pile of dead trees.

We got to spend some time with the g-kids before heading South for the colder part of the winter. We took the kids to an indoor park that was a blast, everything is built so that adults can run through the mazes too! We also spent some time at an outdoor park with a bunch of animals. We got to see Seether and Daughtry, who were amazing, before heading south. We spent December in Biloxi before heading west to Mercedes,Tx for Jan and Feb. In Biloxi, we visited a Marine park on a very ‘off day’, I think they had 4 people total that day, so got front row seats to everything, ours was the only vehicle in the parking log. We also went to a festival, spent a day in New Orleans, went to a physic, saw some Christmas lights and, of course, had some beignets. We spent time riding bikes on the beach, saw a Candlelight performance, and a boat Christmas parade. In Tx, we met up with Alice and Gordon, went to South Padre and a Sea Turtle rescue/rehab, went up a lighthouse, swam (outside in January!!), and played a bunch of pool and pickleball. We saw the battlefields of the last battle of the Civil War and several battlefields from the Mexican-American War. We drove out to see SpaceX and to the location of where the ‘Murder’ Hornets crossed into the US. We saw the historic Brownsville cemetery, a mini-Monster truck rally and crossed the Rio Grande to go into Nuevo Progresso, Mexico, for some tacos. We also attended a parade and an amazing car show. Lastly, Ian reminded us of why we were happy we are not in Alaska 🙂

Texas

The g-kids helped Jim pick out a cake and roses for my birthday, then Craig came to visit. We went to a Cards game, the Arch, to the property, and to a cave. Britt got back from S. Korea and came out to pick up Juno before heading to Alaska. Ash no longer needs our assistance w/ the kiddos, so we went to Michigan for a week, saw some beautiful fall colors and bought yet another camper. For those counting, we now have three (we have a truck camper, too). We got to spend Halloween w/ the g-kids.

We went a little nuts and got a new camper and truck. The camper looks MUCH larger in the pic than it is, we went with a 38′ Brinkley. So, 3 feet longer than the Solitude. I have an OFFICE with a DOOR!! We also have a deck, which the dogs and kids appreciate. We didn’t really want a dually, but the camper is pretty heavy, so thought it was the safest option. The truck Jim wanted didn’t come in red, so we got the package that did, got a black out package, added some stair stepper things, and removed a bunch of the GMC badges. M turned 6, so we went to a water park and had some amazing cake baked by Mama Bear’s Bakery in St. Peters. We also got to hang out with some good friends (Mama Bear herself) on the river and then went to the property for some lake time. Ash and Chayse came down for July 4th, which was really great. Becky ended up taking a turn for the worse and I lost my sister on 7.13.25.

We braved the cold and stayed in STL watching the g-kids. Jim helped them put together some wood kits, we went to Grant’s Farm and saw some retired Clydesdales (and one that was on vacation). We went to the STL aquarium, the circus, the a light display at the zoo and took lots of trips to the park to run out some energy. I got to hang out with Ash at the ER for a couple hours, after she cut her head at work and also met up with my family in Birmingham to see Becky.

We took the g-kids to a berry farm, I canned some chicken (from a store), our neighbors let the g-kids come over to see their piglets, cats, dogs, and calf, work continued on the porch, and took the g-kids to a Christmas parade. Jim pulled the camper to STL, so that I could move off Ash’s couch – then moved up with me, Enolah’s 3rd birthday, and Christmas. We also got to take the g-kids to their first movie theater. Sadly, I got sick on NYE, so no fun pics of that.

Sherry killed a turkey, we plucked, cleaned, and tried to eat it, but ended up feeding it to the dogs. They were very grateful. We got the lean-to finished, got the porch started, dumped Ian in the lake, and bought a JEEP, the Jeep broke down, spent some time with the g-kids. One chicken had a ‘planned chick’, then another chicken appeared with a bunch of chicks after camping out in the unused fire pit. In mid- October, Sherry ‘moved’ to STL to help Ash with babysitting the g-kids. On a trip back, we went to the County Fair, then Oktoberfest with some friends and we got Britt’s first pics of South Korea, where she played with lemurs and tried some new kinds of food.